Rock It: Moody Blues find many Midwest fans

British prog rock lords The Moody Blues jam on the Murat stage in Indianapolis Thursday, December 6, 2012 celebrating 45 years after the release of their successful album Days of Future Passed. (Photo by Rachael Mattice/Journal and Courier)

As the band makes three stops in Indiana, including one tonight in Indianapolis, curiosity drives some to ask why artists of their caliber would concentrate on what outsiders call “flyover” states.

“We’re big in the industrial, working-class parts of America,” vocalist and guitarist Justin Hayward told The Word magazine in a 2006 interview. “Funnily enough, it’s all the places that we came to when we opened for Canned Heat in ’68. They were great to us, but their audience was like the Midwest, that’s been our territory ever since. I’m pleased because there is a genuine love of the music.”

Genuineness, honesty and rawness are found in the souls of the Midwest, making it a perfect canvas for the mature and depth-filled music of the The Moodies. With universal themes of love, compassion and peace, songwriting made them stand out and be successful.

“They helped transition the world from its uncontrollable pandemic-love for bubblegum rock and introduced the finer intricacies of musical composition while melding it with the coming style of progressivism in songs,” said David Dzado, 26, a songwriter originally from Garrett.

The cookie-cutter feel of their early top 40 song, “Go Now,” was completely different from later hits.

When Justin Hayward and John Lodge joined the band, the transition to “literature” songwriting and psychedelic rock helped the band develop a fresh and meaningful vernacular for smoothly explaining human emotions.

“Justin introduced higher education to music mainstream by turning the simplistic ‘doo wop’ to ‘the music to the story in your eyes,’ ” Dzado said. “He had a natural way to express feelings we all share.”

Whether it is “Tuesday Afternoon,” “The Voice,” “Your Wildest Dreams,” “Melancholy Man,” tribute to LSD advocate Timothy Leary, “Legend of a Mind,” or the first four-minute song to be played on radio, “Nights in White Satin,” the Moodies’ ambient, concept-driven orchestral records made them fashionable not only in the Midwest, but internationally.

“I first heard them in the ‘70s and they were so mellow and soothing,” said Shari Morris, 68, a fan originally from Rittman, Ohio. “I loved every song and would listen to them when my kids were asleep.”

Decades after The Moody Blues’ epic album release, “Nights” is still being featured in films and the band is effortlessly filling auditoriums.

“The band is timeless with few references to fads and other identifying items in their lyrics making the music last forever,” Dzado said.

“The Moodies were good at distilling the human condition to a set of words that were specific enough to elicit emotional response, but ambiguous enough to apply to everyone that would listen. People could become a part of the song instantly, regardless of when or where they were born.”

Mattice is a producer and music journalist for the Journal and Courier. She can be reached at rmattice@jconline.com or on Twitter @RachaelM_JC.